The invention relates a fire retardant and compounds based thereon such as to flameproof or fire retardant plastic, coatings and the like. Such plastics are usable for example as building materials, in seating, or the like. Coatings or stains could be useful in making an underlying substrate more fire resistant.
Building materials and building components of plastics are frequently utilized for the interior construction of renovated rooms. For example, wall protection panels, wall protection strips, handrails and like building elements of semi-hard or soft, flexible and elastic plastic foams are used for lining of walls, recesses, wall projections, swinging doors or the like, in particular in gymnasiums and sports halls or hospitals. Development in this field has led to building elements which are as a rule resistant to impact, scratching, abrasion and breakage and also nearly decay-proof, ageing-resistant against acids and alkalis, free from odor, and also developing no gases. They can be colored and cut or sawn, and are adhered to, e.g., concrete, masonry, wood or plaster with special adhesives. They are washable and easy-care.
Sound-absorbing elements can also be made of said building materials, so that the building materials have very versatile uses for the interior structure of spaces. Particularly outstanding building components in the above sense are, for example, described in Deutsche Gebrauchsmuster (DE-GM) 75 30 775. These are constructed of a foamed plastic core with relatively dense, thin surface layers of the same plastic material, the surface layers or edge zones being materially connected to the core. Such a building element preferably consists of a semi-hard or soft, elastic, flexible, foamed and solidified polyurethane, the surface layers having the same material, namely polyurethane. The polyurethane is foamed during the production of the building element in a mold in a conventional manner. For such building elements made of polyurethane it is to be emphasized that they have quite excellent heat-insulating properties.
The building materials described can, of course, also be used for cushioning, for protection or for decoration or the like for other elements such as, e.g., furniture or appliances or the like and thereby fulfill the same or other objectives. Similarly, the fire retardant of the present invention can be used in coatings and stains.
The usability of many materials such as building materials, seating cushions, and the like can be problematic in cases in which high flame retardancy is required or desired. For example, a flameproof material according to DIN 4102 Building Material Class B1, a West German designation, is very difficult to obtain in plastic. According to DIN 4102, and comparable codes in other countries, the burning behavior of building materials and building components is standardized, the building materials being divided into two main classes. Main Class A relates to incombustible materials. Main Class B contains, in contrast, the combustible building materials. The building materials with which the present invention is concerned fall into Building Material Class B. This class is further divided, according to the West German standard, into the following subclasses:
B1 Flameproof building materials PA1 B2 Normally inflammable building materials PA1 B3 Easily inflammable building materials.
The described, known building materials as a rule belong to the easily or normally inflammable building materials and are thus counted in Classes B2 and B3. Only a few plastics building materials are flameproof (Class B1) and even fewer are incombustible (Class A).
The object of the invention is to make easily inflammable and/or normally inflammable plastics materials flameproof, so that building components or other items produced from them satisfy the conditions of the West German DIN 4102 standard, and comparable standards in other countries, and can be classified in Class B1.
It is known that building materials of plastics, in particular, of polyurethane foam, can be made flameproof when asbestos is used as a filler. The processing of asbestos is however partially prohibited, due to the danger of asbestos, so that the use of building material parts utilizing asbestos is no longer permitted. In addition, the filler causes a hardening of the plastic foam, so that some desirable properties such as flexibility and elasticity of the building components can be lost. Research on the use of other fireproof fillers has up to now been abortive. None of the products satisfied the requirements of the DIN 4102 or any comparable standard.
It is further known to reduce the inflammability of plastics by the addition of chemicals. For example, phosphates or borates are used, mixed into the plastic mass. These measures in fact lead to more difficult flammability. However even this is not substantial enough to fulfill the requirements for the building materials, e.g., the conditions of the West German DIN 4102 standard. Possibly building materials of the kind described can be produced which are sufficient for Class B2. Inorganics such as antimony trioxide are also used, but are expensive.
The object of the invention is to provide fire retardant plastics, which can be produced easily and without danger, and which are sufficient for Class B1 of DIN 4102, and comparable tests in other countries, without the desired advantageous properties of the plastics being substantially impaired or lost.